All things books, all the time

Stopping a Book Before you Finish

I know more avid readers than I do this several times throughout the year. They pick up a book, whether by an author they know or one that is new to them, and never reach the final page. To me, this is a terrible feeling. Not because I feel bad for the author or the publisher or anyone involved, but because somewhere along the line I read the blurb or a review or something that helped me decide that this was a book I’d like to read. So I become disappointed that I made a wrong turn somewhere.

Let me tell you what typically makes me stop a book before I finish because it has happened a lot more recently than ever before. For the longest time I had only one or two books I’d started and stopped. I just did a quick check and I think that number is five now. Three happened this year! So what makes me stop reading a book? It’s boring. A book by one of my favorite authors that came out last year that was quite a bit different from his previous work had whole chapters of description. Whole 25-35 page chapters! What is that? The protagonist. I don’t think I’ve ever read any books in which I hated the protagonist, but there have been a few that made me just want to throw my book out the window. Not naming any, though. Pace. Now I’ve mentioned before that as a writer I know nothing about pacing. Well as a reader I think I’m more knowledgeable. I shouldn’t be nearly halfway through the work before knowing what the heck is going on. I want to know the conflict and I want to know it early on.

There is one other reason I might stop a book. If I’m just trying out a new author and I’m not hooked by the first 50-100 pages, then I might stop and grab something off my shelf by an author I know I like.

I think there have been five or six books I’ve started and never finished, and I still haven’t gone back to any of them.

So tell me, what makes you stop a book before finishing? And how often would you say it happens to you? I’m sure your reasons may be similar to mine, but maybe you have more.

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205 thoughts on “Stopping a Book Before you Finish”

I don’t like to leave a book unfinished. I have forced my way through a good many. Until this year. I started reading a book and it was promising. I don’t even think I got half way through before I put it away. I was so aggravated with it that I almost threw my Kindle across the room just to get rid of the book. The story was very promising, but the author had so many mistakes that I just couldn’t bring myself to finish the book.
I’m the same way with series books. If I have read the first one I will plow through the rest of them. Again, this year I came across a series that I couldn’t finish. I read the first book and I didn’t want to put myself through the torture of finishing the series.

When you say mistakes, like typos and grammar stuff or just bad writing? Only one series have I read at least the first book and cowed never to go back to it. Most others I’ll read, enjoy, and continue on.

All of the above. I swear, it was typos, bad grammar, and bad writing all together. It was a self-published book and I don’t think the author edited it at all. It was like she wrote it and just threw it out to the wolves. Horrible.

She was actually at a comicon that I went to last month. I was going to tell her face to face, but she looked a little witchy…I was afraid she would put a hex on me if I told the truth about her horrible book.

Books have to be well written. If a book is not well written I will not finish it. I recently bought a book at a thrift store by a very well-known author and read maybe two chapters before deciding I wasn’t going to finish it. I’m not going to name names, but the book was terribly written. It sounded like something a middle school kid would write.

Maybe I was just annoyed at the time or not in a mood to read. But the sentences were so short and choppy, to the point of not flowing right. I may pick it up later, but I have other books I would rather read. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon… lol

I take or back… I’m not so cool… I don’t have a fan club… I’m just an ordinary person. Please don’t hate me… Or love me. Cause that’s weird. BUT… If you ever need to know anything about archery, you know who to ask 🙂

I don’t like to stop reading either. BUUUUT I’ve stopped reading two books recently. I just didn’t care. I didn’t care what happened to the characters and I didn’t care to see where the rest of the story was going.

I stop reading a book if it doesn’t capture me. I was once reading a book at how to write a TV Pilot and I just stopped within 30 pages. It was dry, more like a textbook. I don’t even like reading them lol. I just read another book about freeing the writer from within and IT was very slow. It took me two months on and off to read. But, I understand the message now, pretty much to trust your writing, voice and have your own style. Now, I’m going to get my kindle and pick a new book to read. If I don’t like it, I won’t finish it. At least I supported by buying the book, right?

I usually finish books I start, though it may take a while if I have to put it down for a while. I won’t finish a book if I find myself rolling my eyes every few pages because the dialogue or descriptions are just too cliche or ridiculous.

Sometimes I’ll put a book down and just forget that I’d been reading it (usually happens with dry characters), but that’s pretty rare.

And yes, I literally have thrown a book across my room in disgust. I think that has happened maybe five times.

I have put down books for all of those valid reasons you mentioned. In some cases there may have been nothing wrong about the book for me except the subject matter. I don’t apologize for it; nor do I blame the author in most cases. The most prevalent reason for putting down an unfinished book is boredom, but what bores me may excite someone else.

I stop reading a book if it is boring or poorly-written. I give it a fair shot, but if it lacks conflict, isn’t moving quickly enough, or has plot issues that are evident, I abandon it for a better read. I don’t feel badly, either. I don’t like wasting my time on reading something that isn’t engaging. I am reading a book now that has a good plot line, and I want to find out what happens. So I’m sticking with it. On the down side, some of the characters are just plain silly. There are a lot of sex scenes in the book. I have no problem with that, but the author uses the same phrases over and over and over again in descriptions of the lovemaking. I think she is using this tactic to slow down the action of the plot so the book doesn’t end too quickly. Not a good idea.

Haha the sex stuff is funny. If any book I’m reading has more than maybe two, not detailed sex scenes, just where the reader knows what’s going on between the two characters, then I’d probably stop the book and ask myself what the heck I’m reading. Since almost all my books are mysteries, I’m not looking to be reading about a ton of sex.

I write erotica so sex scenes are something of an interest to me. I think a sexual encounter should have the same arc as a murder or an action scene. Something is at stake rather than a wet patch, change has to result by the end of it.

I agree with your reasons… typically, if I see even one grammatical error I toss the book without another thought, and an overwhelming amount of cursing also lands the book in the garbage. Some writers think they “need” the bad language -for authenticity maybe? But for me, it’s distracting, repetitive, unnecessary, and extremely frustrating. I wouldn’t hang out with someone who talked like that, and I don’t like to have to tell my books to wash their mouths out with soap, either. Good question!

I rarely stop reading books when I commit to it, but have a few times. Usually its just the writing style doesn’t stick with me. If I don’t like it after 30-50 pages I’ll stop reading. I have left a couple books half-finished because I had to read something for school and I can’t read two books at once without taking something away from them. I’ll go back an start it over when I have time.

I just meant I plan to reread the ones I stopped reading because I didn’t have time. Although now you mention it there have been books I didn’t like then tried to read a couple years later and LOVED them the second time through. I just wasn’t mature enough to enjoy them when I was younger.

Going by numbers alone, I’m most likely to stop reading a book because it’s so full of errors in grammar and punctuation that I cannot overlook those errors and read it anyway. So far, this has mostly happened with e-books. *shrug* That aside, I’m not likely to stop reading a book entirely, although I may set it aside for a while, as with one sci-fi novel I picked up a few weeks ago. It’s a good story, and I like the characters, but it isn’t as interesting to me as the other books I’ve read by the same author. I’ll get back to it eventually. The last book I stopped reading and will NOT pick up to finish later was okay for a while, but then there was a scene with graphic sexual violence (spaced out over several chapters, so I couldn’t even just skip that part), and I won’t read that.

Seeing as I’m kinda competitive, I don’t like a book winning so I read it till the end even if I am bored to tears … literally. What tends to happen is that it just numbs my brain cells more so I guess at times it’s a win-win situation because I realise I still had SOME brain cells that were alive before I got to the book which instills hope for my mind in the future.

Not true. They can talk all they want, it’s when I start talking and they run off scared. I’ve tried several scenarios to keep them there longer but it seems miming only ups the creepiness factor?! I know, what’s that about, right?

It depends. If you’re prepared to wear armour and spike your protein shake with some Prozac, we could consider it. It would be fun and when you wake up the next morning you could just chalk it up to a terrifying nightmare 😀

I live in the southern US. Highs around 65-70 in December. Mostly. We’ll have the occasional like high of 33 and low of 20, but not too often. No white Christmas for you. Oh well! I’m not telling. Unless you promise me a gift. 🙂

Um, what are you trying to say? That I’m not enough of a gift?! What’s that about. Okay, I can still understand your unacceptance of my “wonderful self” as a viable gift, but what about Lulu, Loony & Gumpy? Plus, do you really want to tell someone called Loony they’re not good enough? Damn, no white Christmas? You’re just going to have to frolic in my imaginary snow like the rest of us then. Maybe we can start a trend or something and it could become the next dance like the Macarena 😀

I’m right, I’m right, I’m right!!! Please allow me to do my dance of victory. I’ve been practicing it for so long but have never been able to showcase all the talent everyone wishes would remain hidden 😀 The Macarena was lame, but that’s the only way I know how to do it? 😀 Okay then, you can choreograph it.

Wow, no pressure at all. I like how you term them oddities – your politeness astounds me & I do NOT believe you’re boring, you’re holding out on those who consider you as such, that’s the only explanation I can come up with.

But that’s what 90% of my conversation is, just random words made up of juxtaposed letters I don’t get, it’s like gambling 24/7. Either it works or it doesn’t :p Plus, I stopped trying to understand my brain a long time ago, I think I told you there’s a screw or two loose as well as the connection to my mouth is severed slightly.

Because I’ve created a wall of protection around myself and as you know I have trust issues and have just decided it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I tend not to believe anything the first time I see/hear it 🙂 Sooooo, I read everything you write to me with just a hint of sarcasm, otherwise my head would explode 🙂

I totally agree with all of the above, though I think voice and protagonist is number one for me. There are so many books I’ve read that are a good premise and decent writing, but the protagonist is so bland or annoying or flat. I’m not so picky about pacing, or description (I just tend to skim) but if it is really excessive, then yes I will get bored. I get more annoyed with books who try to do too many characters and backstory and the story just gets lost because the writer was excited about all these cool people and places and names he came up with…haha. But I’m still pretty stubborn, and hardly ever put down a book for good.

Haha there’s one that comes to mind that was literally a combination of all of those: boring protagonist, 5982982 pages of description/backstory, then literally nothing happens until the last five or so chapters. I still finished it though, haha.

I knew you were going to say that. Knew it. So now here’s my excuse. Everyday I have a routine. It’s quite simple. Wake up. Eat. Watch TV for maybe an hour. Eat again. Gym. Home. Eat. Nap. This is every day I don’t work. And I rarely deviate from this. Sooo whenever I get around to going to the post office I’ll have to. But I just haven’t. And I owe one other person a book too. And I’m sorry I’m lazy. But with all your writing you won’t have time to read it anyway. So I don’t feel too bad. 🙂

For me, it’s usually around the middle of the book. If there isn’t enough action or story pressing forward, I can set it down and not pick it up again. There are plenty of books I haven’t finished. Interesting post. Good topic!